While we can see clearly that the Bible teaches equality between men and women spiritually and even often physically, there are certain verses in the Bible that people use to argue that the Bible is sexist. In this chapter, we shall be looking at some of them and their true explanations.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 - For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

This verse does not mean women exist solely for men. Rather, I believe, it refers to the first man and woman. It talks about being created, as Adam and Eve were. It also refers to them singularly. "The woman" was made for "the man." Which is true, as Eve was made to help Adam. Because of this, I do not think it refers to all men and women. Now, because of this, the Bible then goes on to say women have long hair and men don't.

Another thing that has caused some controversy is the following verse.

Ecclesiastes 7:26 - And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.

It is clearly not talking about all woman, but a very specific type, the type who manipulates and takes advantage of people. There are women who do manipulate men with their affection to do things, especially in an era when women could not hold political or economic power. The Bible says a woman that does that is a great torment to men. A good example of such a woman is Delilah.

Finally, some will argue that because Eve sinned first,that this in itself is sexist. There are some serious problems with that argument. In defense, the Bible is historically true. If it happened, it has to say it happened honestly. It isn't a book of fairy tales made up to explain things, but rather real things that happened. For example, if someone said a woman murdered someone, should we think, "Oh how sexist! How dare they say a woman killed someone!" No, because it doesn't matter that she was a woman and the fact that she is a woman has nothing to do with her crime. To not tell this fact solely because she is a woman is what is sexist. In the same way, the Bible has to tell facts truly. Eve sinned, not because she is a woman, but because she chose to as a person. If Adam sinned first, should we complain also, "How sexist! It mentions that a man sinned, how degrading to men!" No,that would sound ridiculous. Because it does not matter what gender it is.Stating a true, historical fact is not sexist, especially if it is not made out in a way that makes it look like the reason they did that was because the were a woman. The Bible never once says Eve sinned BECAUSE she is a woman; rather, she is a person, who happened to be a woman, who also happened to be a sinner.